It’s 'YourPlay’ for pokie machine players in new government campaign

Pokie machine players will now be able to track the time and money they spend as part of a new initiative launched today in Victoria. The creative approach by Melbourne-based integrated agency Icon is designed to raise awareness and empower recreational pokie machine
players.

The Victorian Government-funded ‘YourPlay’ campaign launches today across digital and print,
with additional executions for YouTube and social media.

Icon Managing Director Joanne Painter said: “We see this as a really important initiative that will
help recreational pokie players get a handle on their game playing activity and stay in control.

"In a departure from the usual messages about gambling, the YourPlay campaign aims to engage
players with language and imagery they can connect with,” Ms Painter said.

The campaign was created by Icon’s Creative team, Rod Clausen and Ed Bechervaise,
along with Senior Account Director Rebecca Mullally.

According to Ed, the creative was inspired by focus group research and player feedback: “One
player we spoke to said he wishes he had access to a kind of ‘gaming breathalyser’ that could
show him when he’d reached his limit. We think YourPlay can answer that need.”

"Players often hear how they’re wrong to enjoy playing the pokies so they switch off. We decided
early on to speak to them directly, using imagery and language they would relate to.”

Empowerment is at the heart of the Victorian Government’s YourPlay initiative, which allows
players to set limits on time and money spent, and get alerts when they’re close to reaching their
limits. YourPlay will be installed on every pokie machine in Victoria from 1 December.

“If knowledge is power, then YourPlay gives more power to players by tracking exactly what
they’re putting into the machines,” Rod said.

“YourPlay is about giving power back to players. Icon’s creative offers players an insight into how
they can use this tool to get some clarity about their gaming, and be more in control of their
decisions,” Rod said.

“Ultimately the choice to use YourPlay lies with the player, but with YourPlay, they’re more
empowered to make choices based on awareness rather than feeling at the mercy of the machine.
Anything that generates a positive feeling about being in control is more likely to engage and lead
to positive behaviour change,” said Rod.